NHL Offseason Thread

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:41 pm

Islanders need more D prospects anyways.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:43 pm

Glad Pierre explained why exactly the kid has a Maple Leafs tattoo.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:45 pm

degenerasian wrote:scottie: when do you think Fucale will go?

On my scratch sheet, I have him going to Calgary. But it's all off the charts now.

Let's see if Buffalo takes Mantha.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:45 pm

Fucale is surely the best player available so expect him to go any pick now.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:50 pm

Scottie wrote:
degenerasian wrote:scottie: when do you think Fucale will go?
On my scratch sheet, I have him going to Calgary. But it's all off the charts now.

Let's see if Buffalo takes Mantha.

Sabres just got LOADED on great D. I'd be very happy as a Sabres fan if I got Risto and Zadorov in one draft.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 4:18 pm

fuck, why can't the flames do things normally. Medicine Hat sniper drops down to the them and they go right off the board.
Or trade that pick down.

Post by **Sabo** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 4:26 pm

Yeah, but the chick with Poirier's group was hot as hell. So you have that going for you.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 4:31 pm

Sabo wrote:Yeah, but the chick with Poirier's group was hot as hell. So you have that going for you.

I could have seen her 20 minutes later with the 28th pick.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:08 pm

Anyone else detecting a pro-Canada bias in TSN's coverage?

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:41 pm

rass wrote:Anyone else detecting a pro-Canada bias in TSN's coverage?

It's McGuire, he's the worst.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:43 pm

Scottie!

Tell me about Keegan Kanzig! 6'7" Defenseman!? Victoria Royals

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:59 pm

Gigantic but lumbering sort of kid. Too soon to say, really, with a D-man that young. In two years he's never scored a goal and has very few assists. This past season they tried to teach him to drop the mitts a bit and fight . . . with mixed results.

Huge Albertan kid from a hard-living area up north, Athabasca.

Again, far too soon to say. He absolutely needs to work on his skating, no question of that. And he needs to grow into his own body.

Honestly didn't think he'd go in the top 100. Calgary (home to a WHL team) must see something in him, clearly.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:14 pm

The consensus here seems to be a wasted 3rd round pick. Feaster is not making many fans today.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:32 pm

Kid looks every bit of 5'9" and 150 lbs.

ZMan · Post by **ZMan** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:28 am

Scottie wrote:About Nino Niederreiter, think about what the Leafs did to fuck with Yanic Perreault; how they destroyed his development by keeping him in the AHL. At least Niederreiter is free of that now.

I'm kinda bummed he's gone, but from what I've heard he's been vocal about wanting a trade pretty much all season.

Also, I don't see how 1 year in the AHL is destroying him. He played 55 games for the Isles in '11-'12, mostly on the 4th line, with all of 1 point and a -29 rating. Then he gets sent down to the AHL, lights it up a bit, whines that he's not being called up, then lets his numbers drop after said whining. Regardless, he wasn't locked in to the AHL for the upcoming season, and would have had his shot to get back into the Isles lineup.
The guys only 20 yrs old, spending a year developing in the AHL shouldn't be considered a slight.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:05 am

I should have elaborated on that abit. Yanic Perreault, like Nino, was a skill player that needed to develop in the NHL rather than a muckers league like the AHL. Someone on the Leafs org didn't like Yanic for some reason. Same with Nino in Uniondale. The Leafs just kept pushing Perreault downward instead of developing him properly. It is that which I saw happening to Nino in NYI.

Thing to remember about Neidereiter is that he was recently both best player in the WHL (Portland Winterhawks) and was also the best player at the World Junior tournament (out of Switzerland, of all places). If he suddenly developed a Pre-Madonna attitude, that's new; he didn't have it in Portland. Most likely he was very frustrated with the Islanders. I read one report last year in The Hockey News (I believe) where he said "nobody tells me anything". I can identify with why that is insanely frustrating; I was once hired by a software company in California that assumed I knew how to do everything and knew not only how to use all of their products but develop their products for them. Completely isolating. I get the impression that Niederreiter wanted to learn but ran into a less than stellar organization (at the time).

Minnesota should hopefully give him some life. I'd have liked to see him in Florida or Ottawa, teams that need goals. New Jersey would have been a good place for him. Granted the Wild need goals, too. But Niederreiter is a RW and RW is probably Minnesota's strongest position already. Sending him down to Iowa (AHL) would be a devastating waste.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:32 am

Kadri too would have been buried in the AHL by Burke and Wilson.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 3:37 am

rass wrote:Bye TK. It was fun.

Sharks received a second round pick from the Pens for Douglas Murray. Gave a second round pick back to the Pens for Kennedy.
Call it Murray for Kennedy.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:45 pm

Tim Panaccio ‏@tpanotchCSN 15s Source says 5 year $23.5 mill for Lecavalier as a Flyer. checking on that

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger 1m Hearing the Flyers are Lecavalier's choice. Working on confirmation.

A) How are they Flyers able to afford this?
B) Who's going to play goal? Tim Thomas?
C) HAHA stupid Flyers. Guess they never learn.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 12:32 am

I've never seen a better skater than Vincent Lecavalier. Watching him as a Junior, two or three strides and he'd be halfway up the ice. Just amazing. When he puts his mind to it, he really is brilliant. A wasted masterpiece only somewhat better than Alexandre Daigle.

But he's in that weird Trevor Linden realm. Know what I mean?

He'd be a perfect fit, and note this, note this strongly, like Mogilny, in New Jersey. Alexander Mogilny is the perfect role model for Vinny.

Although Alexander Mogilny was taught by a very good coach that he could only be a fundamental role player.

Vin won't get that brain in Philly. And Vinny won't go play that role.

Makes me sick to suggest Vin should go to the Canucks. (Quietly barfing. Just a sec. Quietly barfing still.)

Degen! Wanna make a bet??? I'd wager Vin plays at least one season in the Swiss league after it all collapses.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 12:44 am

And, degen, the first time I saw Vincent Lecavalier was when he played for Rimouski. I had high expectations. Yet he's a rarity; can score 100 points and yet be a minus.

I came away from that game (Rimouski -v- Cape Breton) thinking "Wow, that guy is really, really, good at skating toward the bench."

He really should have been Mike Bossy good. But that Quebecois injection deluded him.

I hate hate hate to say this but Vincent Lecavalier is very comparable to Alexei Yashin.

ETA: Another good example is Evgeny Artyukhin*. There's a what the fuck guy. He was the best, by far, player on the same World Junior generation as Ovechkin and Malkin. At the time, notably better than both Ovechkin and Malkin. Just you consider that. And then disappeared into space. Supposedly the Russian Mafia abducted his family and demanded Evgeny Artyukhin's forthcoming millions. Whatever the hell happened. For a little while he was the best player in the world. So was Vinny. For a little while. Both, oddly, Tampa Bay players.

* The two greatest single games I've ever seen played were by Milan Lucic in the 2007 Memorial Cup final, hands down the greatest game I've ever seen someone play. And two? Evgeny Artyukhin in the 2003 Jrs. In Nova Scotia. I was literally jaw-dropped in awe of how good that kid was. Every single shift was flawless. If it was baseball? A perfect game. And then? Oblivion.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:57 am

Lecavalier has always impressed me. He was really good when I saw him live twice in the 2004 final. But that was 2004. I don't think Philly can justify signing him for 5 years starting now. His game has really gone downhill. The fact that he wasn't selected for the 2010 Olympics after being slected in 2004 and 2006 says a lot. Heatley makes that team but Lecavalier does not?

Bouwmeester is the best skater I've ever seen (especially after watching him regularily for 3 years). Too bad he plays like he's 110 pounds, not 210.

Another guy I would put into the WTF category. Remember Igor Knyazev? He was the defensive star for the Russians in one of the World Juniors? 2001? 2002? Better than Volchenkov. Volchenkov became a solid NHLer, what happened to this guy?

kranepool · Post by **kranepool** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:22 am

There's only one line where an aging, overrated, overpaid player like Vinny will play on next year, and that's right beside Brad Richards in NYC.

ZMan · Post by **ZMan** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:22 pm

HockeyBuzz.com is reporting strong rumors of Ryan Miller going to the Isles in a trade.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 4:27 pm

Awesome

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie
Ovechkin named 1st team all-star RW AND 2nd team all-star LW embarrassing. Some guys hard to label as L or R but not Ovie, not this year.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie
The really sad part, IIRC, is PHWA instructed voters via email that Ovechkin is a RW this season yet he still gets voted 2nd team LW. Unreal

James Mirtle‏@mirtle
The player left off the all-star teams due to Ovechkin being named twice (once at wrong position) was Taylor Hall.

James Mirtle‏@mirtle
Here's the thing, too: Taylor Hall is on his entry level contract. He likely would have a substantial bonus for being on an all-star team.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:50 pm

ZMan wrote:HockeyBuzz.com is reporting strong rumors of Ryan Miller going to the Isles in a trade.

Even though it is Eklund rumour, Miller's completely bizarre looking wife is a New Yorker. So that makes sense. Kinda thought he might want to play with his brother.

At least the Islanders are making moves. The stagnation is gone from them, finally. They could turn out to be one of the best teams in the league.

Reserve me a ticket on the bandwagon because I've always loved that team (one of my best friends played for them on the '83 Cup winning team; his life has gone to hell since).

I'm so curious to see how Cory Schneider is going to fit in a new jersey in New Jersey. Or how Luongo is going to behave in Vancouver given that he forced all of this. Or, I suppose, more accurately, was victimized by ownership incompetence; held as a trading card, thrown out there as bait for the last few seasons and now suddenly they love him.

Bad management? Does it get worse? 1980s Leafs maybe. Vancouver is way way way worse than that. But Vancouver put Luongo through the wringer for years and then decided to screw Cory. Why? They can't buy out Lulu. And now Torts has that disaster to deal with because there is nobody nobody behind Luongo.

Luongo, ironically, once played for the Islanders.

Cory Schneider will be brilliant. The Canucks will remain the Canucks.

ETA: The Canucks would have won the Stanley Cup if not for officiating in 1994. Never mind that. They were the best team in the world when Bertuzzi was the best player in the world (Have we ever discussed Bertuzzi on The Swamp?); now they are Sedin victims and cannot possibly move forward until they get rid of obvious problems. The obvious problem was Luongo so the Canucks solved that by getting rid of Schneider. You can't make this up. And the only way they could be more of a Gong Show would be to add a guy like Torts. This just writes itself.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:41 pm

Yes we probably have discussed Bertuzzi. He was one of the best players until Vancouver went crazy over Steve Moore. That was all Marc Crawford and Bertuzzi was himself a victim. Markus Naslund ruined that team and the pussification of the Canucks started with him, not the Sedins.

No way the upstart 2004 Flames upset the Canucks with Bertuzzi there.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:54 pm

degenerasian wrote:Markus Naslund ruined that team and the pussification of the Canucks started with him, not the Sedins.

Exactly. Yes, a million percent exactly. Except the girls developed an institute of sickness that won't go away until they go away.

timgod99X · Post by **timgod99X** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:39 pm

@DarrenDreger Huge trade in the works. Boston and Dallas close on a deal sending Tyler Seguin to Stars for Loui Eriksson. Other parts involved as well.

timgod99X · Post by **timgod99X** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:40 pm

timgod99X wrote:@DarrenDreger Huge trade in the works. Boston and Dallas close on a deal sending Tyler Seguin to Stars for Loui Eriksson. Other parts involved as well.

RT @TSNBobMcKenzie: Hearing DAL-BOS is a 5-player deal.

timgod99X · Post by **timgod99X** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:12 pm

timgod99X wrote:
timgod99X wrote:@DarrenDreger Huge trade in the works. Boston and Dallas close on a deal sending Tyler Seguin to Stars for Loui Eriksson. Other parts involved as well.
RT @TSNBobMcKenzie: Hearing DAL-BOS is a 5-player deal.

@DarrenDreger 2m
Seguin, Peverly and Button to Stars. For Eriksson, J.Morrow R.Smith and Matt Fraser.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:23 pm

Pretty much a yard sale.

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft is looking very weak at this point.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 3:24 pm

And for those with long-term Swamp memory . . . Link Gaetz is, apparently, my neighbor. Should I invite him over for tea?

http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/ci_18074703" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(that story is from a couple of years ago)

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:52 pm

Just catching up after returning from vacation. I had to smile at a couple things - Scottie's asking whether we had discussed Bertuzzi and Degen's innocent reply on that (before your time, Degen). Also, I smile whenever Link Gaetz' name comes up. I think Brian knows some Link Gaetz stories that a former swamper told him.

And, Zman - always take rumors from Hockey Buzz/Eklund with a huge grain of salt. The guy's fed the hockey world more BS rumors than all the other pundits, combined.

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 5:40 pm

Yeah, degen, that was before your time here. In a nutshell? I went batshit crazy defending Bertuzzi over the Steve Moore incident. How shall I say this? Fueled by a couple of quarts of Flor de Caña Nicaraguan rum, I took umbrage at disparagement of Bertuzzi and defended him as violently as the hit itself. This resulted in a three or four hundred post thread of people arguing about it. Well, not exactly arguing. I was the only one on Bertuzzi's side. Still am. So it was pretty much me versus the entire Swamp taking turns noting how much of a jackass they thought I was. And it went way off the charts. I was getting phone calls from guys during that thread asking me if I was seriously backing Bertuzzi and, a couple of times, questioning my sanity while I was typing responses defending it all more aggressively with each posting. Great thread, though.

Iraqi War Casualties. That was the other one. That started with Link Gaetz. And ended with Link Gaetz. But in the middle? Well, it got messy. (I've mellowed out a lot over the years. No really, I have.) But this kid really pissed me off and called me a coward for "running away" from the Swamp while I was actually on a four-day golf resort vacation and previously had the audacity, in his mind, to point out that which he was stating as fact was actually conspiracy theory lunacy. Anyway, he decided it was in his best interests to go off on me. So I hunted down every bit of personal information about him available, most of which was terribly damning, and then posted it all here. It didn't work out too well for him. And then? Well, too soon to say. Thuggish? Unquestionably. Regrettable? Partially. Solved? Definitively. I'd never ever do anything like that today. And I actually feel bad about it. Sort of.

Those were the days.

kranepool · Post by **kranepool** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:22 pm

Scottie wrote:And for those with long-term Swamp memory . . . Link Gaetz is, apparently, my neighbor. Should I invite him over for tea?

Dude.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:24 pm

Ah, it was a magikal time

Scottie · Post by **Scottie** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 8:14 pm

howard wrote:Ah, it was a magikal time

One great line I remember from that (from AB? or Bengal? Someone who was moderating at the time) was "Take your filthy Magikal Pownie act and fuck yourself with it." Which I doubtlessly deserved but, damn, that was hilarious.

Good times.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 9:08 pm

Too bad I wasn't around.

I'm on Bertuzzi's side too. The Canucks handed it wrong. If Naslund fights Moore the situation is over.
And the Naslund can't fight defense doesn't hold water. Naslund is a man, all men can fight.

Remember a few years ago Datsuyk fought Perry? Datsuyk won the Lady Bing a thousand times. Was a great fight too and much respect after that. That hasn't been trouble between the two teams since and they even played a playoff series this year.